7th grade Simone Biles

The following passage (paragraph 4) adds to the understanding of Biles’s development mainly by_______.

She also didn’t know how to control her immense power, often bounding up and back several feet after landing tumbling passes.

• explaining why Biles would have to build a career without being able to perfect the balance beam

• showing how unnecessarily harsh critics were toward Biles early on in her career

  
  

• suggesting how Biles took a weakness and turned it into one of her greatest assets

• establishing what would be her signature tumbling technique throughout her Olympic run

Choose the sentence that best adds descriptive detail to the following passage (paragraph 8):

On her way to becoming a world champion, Biles faced tough decisions. In eighth grade, she was training 20 hours a week, far less than other elite gymnasts. If she wanted to be an Olympian, she would have to commit more time to training. For Biles, that meant shifting to homeschooling and taking on more practices. Traveling to competitions would be all business. A Texas Monthly story about Biles noted that when they travel “gymnasts are sequestered—they stay in a different hotel from the one in which their families stay—to reduce distractions. If they’re allowed out at all, it’s for carefully supervised visits to a tourist site or megamall.” Still, Biles decided to make the switch. Afterwards, as she told Buzzfeed, “My hours ramped up and we did beam and bars twice a day, which usually I had only done once a day.”

• “Texas was also the site of the first nationals Biles would win.”

• “Biles felt an extreme amount of pressure to become the first African-American to win the all-around gold medal.”

• “Biles was afraid that she couldn’t go back to being a normal teenager if her gymnastics career did not work out.”

• “Biles proved that being exceptionally tall was not the only way an athlete could be physically gifted.”

Read the question carefully and select the best answer.

1. Which of these inferences is best supported by the text?

• Many leaders of USA Gymnastics are quietly hoping that Biles does not compete in 2020 so that other gymnasts can have a chance.

• Most of the other nations that Biles competes against have deeply-rooted racist beliefs.

• Biles does not see a college degree as something that is necessary for her future success.

• Changes to the gymnastics score system have helped Biles to flourish even more greatly.

Read the question carefully and select the best answer.

1. Which sentence from the text most strongly supports the correct answer to Question 7?

• “To accept the scholarship and attend college with her peers, Biles would have to give up the opportunity for endorsement deals.”

• “The difficulty score aided Biles because the routines she performs are more challenging than what other gymnasts attempt.”

• “In response, she tweeted, ‘everyone forgets that I have feelings.’”

• “Now, she can often be seen laughing during events, while teammates and opponents are understandably more nervous.”

What does the anecdote in the first paragraph mainly tell readers about Simone Biles? Use specific evidence from the text to support your answer.

To what particular qualities or skills does the author of the text attribute Simone Biles’s success? Similarly, which qualities might prove to be her own worst enemy? Cite examples of both in your response.